Costing Analyst – FP&A - 8th Ave Food & Provisions
St. Louis, MO 63026
About the Job
8th Avenue Food & Provisions is a growing organization made up of businesses that produce and sell quality products including pasta, peanut butter, granola, and fruit and nut trail mixes to retail, foodservice and ingredient customers. The company was formed in October 2018 through a combination of Post Holdings’ private brands businesses and is owned by Post Holdings and funds affiliated with Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. (“THL”), a private equity firm.
Responsibilities:The Costing Analyst - FP&A role (reporting to the FP&A Manager) will work cross-functionally (including but not limited to sales, operations, R&D, procurement, distribution, planning) to determine the most accurate cost to produce new and existing items in the 8th Avenue portfolio. Success in this role is critical in determining the most appropriate pricing in a highly competitive market. As such, this role is an excellent opportunity to gain exposure and crucial business knowledge to grow within Finance or other functional groups within the 8th Avenue organization.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Develop an understanding of the manufacturing and supply chain costs across 8th Avenue and apply this knowledge when calculating the cost to produce and distribute different products
- Learn different manufacturing practices and how each impacts the cost structure of a finished product
- Translate unique customer needs into a dollar value and advise the sales team of potential negotiation levers with customers
- Work with R&D, Marketing, Sales, Procurement, and Plant Production team members to build the costs of new to world innovations
- Identifying significant cost variances and communicating them to product managers in a succinct manner
- Maintain and analyze product costing database (i.e., profit, labor, overhead, conversion cost, forecast and order volume, packaging materials, commodities) to ensure margin goals are accurate and attained
- Support costing process improvement initiatives with the goal of both streamlining and standardizing it.
- Other duties as required by the FP&A team
Education and Experience Required:
- BA/BS in accounting or finance or equivalent work experience
- Strong time management and organizational skills
- Background in engineering, supply chain, operations, finance, accounting, economics, or general business
- Solid understanding of cost accounting methods
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills including proven ability to work with cross functional partners
- Able to read, write and communicate in the English language
- Proficiency in Office 365 systems and advanced skills with Microsoft Excel
Preferred Education, Experience, and Skills:
- Leadership experience either in personal or professional endeavors including the ability to influence others without direct authority
- CPA or CMA certification
- Familiarity with data visualization and financial modeling (Power BI, Tableau, Adaptive, Anaplan)
- Experience with process automation
- Experience with an ERP system (JDE preferred)
- Knowledge of lean manufacturing principles